Fate of Balzan trees still in the balance after revocation of Portelli permit

A J Portelli development in Balzan was given the thumbs-down in the Planning Authority’s environment and planning review tribunal (EPRT), confirming the “significant impact” on two iconic Ficus trees that characterise the streetscape near the former Dolphin complex.

The two large and robust trees stretch from the façade of the Dolphin Centre, across the entire width of Triq il-Kbira, with a diameter of 18m.

“It is clear that the execution of the permit would have necessitated the cutting off of a substantial part of the mature trees since these extend on the site question,” the EPRT said after revoking the 88-apartment project proposed by construction magnate Joseph Portelli’s partner Clifton Attard.

The EPRT even reprimanded the developers for not even referring to the two trees in the plans they submitted, and for claiming their project will not result in the uprooting of any tree. According to the tribunal, these omissions could have misled the Environment and Resources Authority, which failed to assess the impact of the project on the two trees at proposal stage.

The appellants, which included the Balzan local council, successfully argued that the project’s basement would be excavated right up and beyond the pavement line, resulting in “the destruction of half of the tree’s roots” as well as its most of its branches and 154sq.m of foliage. The objectors feared this would ultimately result in the felling of the trees.

Recognising that the trees are located on a public pavement outside the boundary of the application, the EPRT confirmed the significant impact on them by the excavations of two underground levels right up to the building alignment, and then the construction of five floors with balconies extending beyond the building line.

Now the EPRT has ordered the developers to present new plans and reword the application form to indicate the presence on the two large trees. But it stopped short of calling on them to exclude any negative impact on the trees, limiting itself to asking them to “explore the possibility of an amended design to ensure that the trees are not impacted in a significant way.”

The EPRT also reprimanded the developers for omitting any reference to a nymphaeum which may have formed part of the original historical villa which itself was illegally demolished in 1987.

Curiously, plans indicated an already-built basement in the area where the nymphaeum is located, whose existence was only brought to light in the appeal filed by the objectors. Although an affidavit by a former owner says the structure was built when the Dolphin Centre was constructed, the tribunal noted that the weathered stones are an indication of the structure’s antiquity.

Even the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has recognised the value of the structure and is now recommending the integration of the structure in the development.

The EPRT, chaired by Robert Sarsero, revoked the Planning Commission’s decision from September but the developers will have to present a new application to the PA to reassess the project, with a new case officer’s report and the planning process reversed back to that stage. The EPRT also limited the number of floors which can be approved on the site to three full floors and one receded floor instead of the four full floors and one receded floor which was approved.